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Bora Bora
Bora Bora is the largest moon of Yaiciz, home to the windmines that cover much of the planet's energy needs and one of the Phoenix Empire's largest hard labour prisoner camps. During the Gilded Republic Originally, Bora Bora had been a dead rock like almost every other moon, without atmosphere, water or any trace of life. But when Yaiciz became too crowded and too polluted, the moon was picked out as possible refuge for the rich and powerful, the ultimate gated community. The moon was rechristened after a legendary island on Earth, and an unprecedented terraforming effort was launched. The project had to be abandoned, though, mostly because of cost explosions. The scientists and engineers had managed the incredible feat of increasing Bora Bora’s gravity to almost the level of Yaiciz and adding a stable, breathable atmosphere, all this while keeping the overall gravitational mechanics of the system unchanged. But the project had run into prohibitive costs when they tried to implement any kind of ecosystem that would turn Bora Bora from theoretically inhabitable to hospitable. Frequent, heavy storms wrecked the surface and any imported water disappeared into the cracks and caverns of the crust, never producing any mentionable humidity. Windmines The constant storms that render the moon’s surface basically uninhabitable are pure energy, free to be harvested by anyone who can tame them. It took several decades and many flamboyantly failed attempts, but in the end a system evolved that is both simple enough to withstand the harsh environment and effective enough to be profitable. Giant wind-catchers were erected strategically all over the moon’s surface, acting as funnels that lead parts of the storm down into the ubiquitous caves. Subterranean trough pits collect all the gravel and sand the storms carry with them, until the air is clean enough to be ejected through massive turbines. The energy generated is then led towards the equator, where a huge microwave array sends the energy down to Yaiciz. As Bora Bora is in rotational lock with its planet, this is a fairly simple and reliable process, and there have been only very few incidents of scorched neighborhoods on Yaiciz. Hard labor prison camp Even as sturdy and reliable as the engines on Bora Bora are, there is one problem that can only be resolved by hard slave labor: All the storms invariably carry dirt and rocks with them, the stronger ones even hurl boulders the size of small cars around. So the wind-catchers all sport massive grids to keep out the worst of the rubble that threatens to clog the tunnels. Naturally, whatever size of grid you choose, there will always be a number of rocks just the right size to get wedged in, reducing the airflow and in consequence the profitability of the plant. Mechanical cleaning solutions are nice, but breaking down much too fast in the constant assault of dust and sand. Energy shields are prohibitively expensive, and that only leaves one solution: Every time the storms calm down sufficiently, crews of slaves are sent out to the wind-catchers, cleaning the grids with sledgehammers and their bare hands. It is hard, unskilled work in an unforgiving environment, with living conditions dictated only by cost efficiency. Life expectancy is less than a year for most slaves on Bora Bora. On top of everything else, the fact that Bora Bora is a moon, with a surface that makes survival almost impossible, makes it almost impossible to escape. Always eager to make yet another credit, the owners of the power plants were quick to catch on and offered to take in those slaves too useless or unruly to be kept around - turning Bora Bora into the biggest hard labor prison camp of humanity over the years. Other Articles on Bora Bora Bora Bora Category:Places Category:Moons Category:Dracon holdings Category:Yaiciz